Promises
by flavumetrubrum
Summary: Naruto makes a lot of promises.


My first Naruto one-shot and my first romance. Please let me know what you think.

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Naruto stood a mile away from Konoha's gate, overlooking the village from the crest of a hill. He sighed and rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, ignoring the dried blood. He could take care of that once he was inside the village.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, releasing the tension that had been building within him for days.

He and his team—Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai—had traveled almost completely across the Fire Country chasing after a lead on Sasuke. It had paid off, too; Naruto had found and defeated Sasuke, and they were now escorting him back to the village.

The young missing nin hadn't said much, but his few words had meant a lot. "Thank you," he had said. Naruto couldn't have asked for anything more.

Yet it would never be the same between the two genin. Too much had happened. Naruto had changed and grown so much in the last three years that he was barely recognizable as the goofy "dead last" of their younger days. Sasuke had tried to kill Naruto too many times—and very nearly succeeded. Even with the combined power of Kyuubi's chakra and Sakura's healing techniques, Naruto had barely escaped the last battle with his life. And he had the scars to prove it.

Naruto was so caught up in his reflections that he failed to notice Sakura's approach until she was beside him. She did not look at him but followed his gaze to their village.

"It's going to be different, isn't it?" she said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Mhmm," he replied. He didn't really know what to say. Things were going to be very different. Without chasing after Sasuke, they wouldn't be spending much time together as a team. They still weren't sure how the village would deal with Sasuke's return. Sakura would go back to training with Lady Tsunade. And Naruto… well, Naruto would take the chuunin exam and then go from there. Sai would no doubt return to the ANBU and Kakashi would probably take on another genin team. Yes, things were going to be very different.

"Just… promise we'll always be friends," Sakura said.

Naruto turned to look at her, an expression of extreme seriousness on his face. Even now it seemed out of place on the blonde. "I'll always be there for you. You know that."

"Promise me." Naruto was surprised by the desperation in her voice.

"I promise." He said it in the tone of voice he always used when making a promise: the one that said, "I won't go back on my word. That's my way of the ninja!"

Sakura relaxed immediately. "Good." They stood in silence for some time. Naruto didn't take his eyes off the beautiful kunoichi. Although he had been dating Hinata for a while now, he couldn't deny he still had feelings for Sakura. But they were only friends. And now that Sasuke was back in the picture….

"We should probably rejoin the others. They're almost to the gat now," Naruto suggested. Sakura nodded, and the two took off at a run.

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As soon as Team 7 stepped within the gate of Konoha they were met with a crowd of curious villagers and ninja. Hinata and Ino broke away from the masses and ran toward them, smiling. Hinata ran straight to Naruto and embraced him fiercely. "Naruto! I was so worried about you." He hugged her back tightly.

Ino made her way to Sakura and greeted her warmly—Naruto still had no idea what had happened between the two girls since their academy days, but whatever it was he was pretty sure the whole village was grateful.

When Ino saw Sasuke, silent and aloof as ever, she froze and paled visibly. Naruto was well aware that the kunoichi had never believed Sasuke would come home. He watched her reaction with some curiosity. She stared for a minute, then turned and walked away. Naruto and Ino weren't the best of friends, but he knew her well enough to recognize that she had moved on. There, in that moment, she had found the closure she needed. Naruto was happy for her.

Hinata was still clinging to his arm, but she had fallen silent and was also staring at the Uchiha. "Naruto-kun, I'm so happy for you," she said. He thought she sounded very relieved. But there was something about what she had said…. Hinata had called him Naruto-_kun_. She hadn't used the formal suffix since they had started dating. Something had changed.

Kakashi leaned over to him and spoke out of the corner of his mouth: "Why don't you and your girlfriend go have a little fun? I'll take care of things with the Hokage."

Hinata blushed, but Naruto was grateful. All he wanted was to get away from the crowd of people. So he nodded and led Hinata away.

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After Naruto had bathed and put on clean clothes, he and Hinata sat in their accustomed spot on the roof of his apartment building, watching the sun set. They sat in silence for some time, enjoying the companionship. At length, Hinata broke the silence.

"I missed you, Naruto-kun."

"And I you, Hinata," he replied. Another moment passed. He looked at her, and she met his gaze shyly. "Something's changed," he said. She blushed furiously.

"I…. That is, I don't w-want to…."

"Hinata," he said, a little more fiercely than intended. "You can talk to me. Tell me what it is."

"I don't want to hurt you, Naruto-kun, but…." She seemed to gain confidence. "I want to be fair to you. I love you, Naruto-kun, I always have. But I don't think it's the type of love a relationship should be built on. You always inspired and motivated me, and I admire you greatly. But…."

"There's someone else," he interrupted, surprising both of them.

"Yes. While you were away… I spent a lot of time with my team. Kiba especially. We grew close."

Naruto nodded, staring intently at the brightly-colored horizon. "Kiba is a lucky man," he said.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…."

"Don't apologize, Hinata. I was never completely fair to you, either." He looked at her. "Part of me will always love you, but not the way you deserve. You need someone who can give you their whole heart and worship you with their entire being. I can't do that."

Hinata looked at the roof. "Are we still friends?"

"Always," Naruto said emphatically. "If you ever need me, I'll be there in a heartbeat."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Thank _you_, Hinata-chan."

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Naruto stood a mile away from Konoha's gate, overlooking the village from the crest of a hill. The starry sky above him shone with the light of the moon, illuminating the path to the village.

This time he saw Sakura coming from a mile away, slipping quietly through the gate. Naruto waited, watching her progress. When she reached him, she stood beside him in silence.

"They've pardoned Sasuke. He's confined to the village until further notice, but he won't be punished beyond that."

"Mm," was all he said. He was glad to hear it.

"He told me he wants to give me a chance. He did a lot of thinking while he was away, and he likes me."

"Congratulations," Naruto said. He ignored the pang of jealousy.

"I said no. He was too late."

Naruto didn't respond this time. Sakura continued. "I told him I fell in love with someone else while he was gone. I told him someone else was there for me after he abandoned me." She paused for a second and took a deep breath. "I told him I love you, Naruto."

The genin stared at her, too shocked for words. "I know you're dating Hinata, and you probably don't care for me that way anymore, but I needed you to know." She turned to leave, and Naruto grabbed her hand.

"Hinata and I aren't dating anymore. She fell in love with Kiba while I was chasing Sasuke; he was there for her when I couldn't be. And I… I could never give her my whole heart. I still love you, Sakura." Tears filled Sakura's eyes as she gazed into his.

"I can't believe it took me so long to realize it," Sakura said. "You were always there for me. You were willing to sacrifice your own happiness to secure mine. You're the only one I've ever really loved, Naruto."

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Naruto leaned forward and kissed her lightly. She stood on her tip-toes and deepened the kiss, her hand moving to the back of his head. She then laid her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you, Naruto."

"I love you, Sakura."

"Promise me you'll always love me."

"I promise I'll always love you. I always have, and I always will."


End file.
